The Democratic Republic of the Congo was colonized by King Leopold II of Belgium. Leoplod was one of the many leaders claiming the Congo Free State, until Leopold and Belgium was Awarded the Congo in the Berlin Conference. Leopold took advantage of the plentiful amount of rubber and ivory. During his rule of the Congo, Leopold strictly controlled the indigenous people, amputating the hands of those who didn't keep up in his/her labor expectations. Leopold is estimated to be responsible for 10 million deaths from forced labor, starvation, and murder. Belgium took complete control of the Congo in 1907 and remained in control until 1960, when they awarded the Congo independence. The Belgians, though, neglected to set up a stable government and groups fighting for power quickly went to a civil war. After the civil war, a man named Joseph-Desire Mobutu gradually became the dictator of the Congo (which he renamed Zaire). There was also the problem of the Hutu refugees from neighboring Rwanda, who set up bases in Eastern Zaire. Mobutu reorganized the government from the minute he became dictator until 1975. Relbellion leader Joseph Kabila launched a 7-month campaign against Mobutu and eventually overthrew him.
Mobutu Sese Seko
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